1. Tools for sustainable tourism
Lecture 7
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

2. A TOOLBOX for sustainable tourism
A way to identify what is important to stakeholders
- remember governance & partnerships
Establish markers of what should be preserved and protected to ensure sustainability – what we CARE ABOUT
Setting upper and lower ranges for those markers,
Measuring and communicating those markers
Identifying (predictive) relationships between those markers
A TOOLBOX for sustainable tourism
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

3. Four different types of tools
Measure the levels of impact
Command and control tools
Economic incentives
Voluntary practices
Supporting mechanisms
Four different types of tools
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

4. 1. Measure levels of impact
The ‘original’ situation is often unknown
Relative situations: research occurs after changes occur
Information is limited
Incremental effects
1. Measure levels of impact
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

5. A range of impact measurement tools
Visitor Impact Management (VIM)
Visitor Experience and Resource Protection (VERP)
Visitor Activity Management Process (VAMP)
Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS)
Tourism Optimisation Management Model (TOMM)
As well Environmental Impact Assessment tools
A range of impact measurement tools
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

6. Difficulty in assessing impacts
Most sites are unique
Impacts may result from many activities, not just tourism
Time lag between cause & effect
Little consensus on which indicators are most appropriate to indicate change

7. INDICATORS
Indicators are variables providing information about the status of some phenomenon
What is the question that we want to answer using an indicator, and will the indicator answer that question?
Does the selected indicator demonstrate a direct relationship with the natural, social, or economic status of tourism?
Can the indicator be measured easily and relatively inexpensively, i.e. will it be worth collecting?
Will the indicator trigger action before the conditions have deteriorated to an unacceptable level?
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

8. © Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

9. Challenges of indicators
fuzzy boundaries of complex tourism systems
incompatible timeframes of monitoring vs. political process
nonlinear relationships between cause & effect
lack of knowledge regarding benchmarks & thresholds
potential incompatibility between environmental, economic & sociocultural outcomes
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

10. Limits of acceptable change
Moves away from linear thinking.
Recognises a complex system, and that change is INEVITABLE
so instead… step systematic process
Limits of acceptable change
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

11. 9 steps of LAC process
1. Identity areas’ special values, issues & concerns
2. Identify & describe recreation opportunity classes
3. Select indicators of resource and social conditions
4. Inventory existing resource and social conditions
5. Specify standards for resources and social conditions in each opportunity class
6. Identify alternative opportunity class allocations
7. Identify management actions for each alternative
8. Evaluate and select preferred alternative
9. Implement actions and monitor conditions.
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

12. The policies and regulations that manage tourism, e. g
The policies and regulations that manage tourism, e.g. building codes, health and safety regulations, labour laws, council planning, zonation, visa, entry permit, taxes COVERED IN LECTURE 4
2. Command and control
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

13. 3. Economic incentives Taxes Entry permits Subsidies and grants
Prizes and awards
Marketing and demarketing activities
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

14. Demarketing: selective vs general
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15. Alternative economic models
Circular economy
Green economy
Shared economy
Gift economy
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16. 4. Voluntary mechanisms Codes of practice
Forms of certification, e.g. ecolabels or B-corp certification
4. Voluntary mechanisms
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17. © Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

18. PATAGONIA – B Corp.
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

19. Codes of practice Negatives: - voluntaryno timelines voluntary
vague, general
self-regulated
Positives:

20. Whale watching code for boats

21. Ecolabels operate on the supply side of sustainable tourism and are understood to establish business compliance with external standards of positive environmental performance Widely available over the last 30 years, 47 different schemes exist but only adopted by 1% of tourism businesses. They are seen to serve three general purposes: 1. Standardise desirable environmental performance levels across the sector, 2. Ensure certified businesses understand and meet those performance levels 3. Serve as competitive point of difference for a market looking for green products.
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

22. Ecolabels: pros and cons
Low implementation costs, when compared to government regulations.
Cost savings from operating more efficiently.
Marketing advantages for the environmentally-conscious tourism market
Credibility through the third party auditing system.
The cost of implementation, as businesses sign up to the certification program and must complete the paperwork associated with the environmental performance (and change their practices in some cases).
The low level of consumer awareness of labels, reducing any marketing advantage.
The variability in quality and issue of credibility between programs
The lack of a measure of the effectiveness of ecolabels
The issue of inequality in developing countries.
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism

23. Other tools? Interpretation Carbon calculators Training programs
Industry toolkits
Other tools?
© Alexandra Coghlan 2019 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism